Unstoppable

 Michael Sprague

UNSTOPPABLE

According to naysayers, Kingdom hope should be impossible. The prediction of the demise of the Jesus Movement has been declared rigorously.

 In 1917 Communists came to power in Russia, declaring by the 21st century the entire world would welcome communism and Christian faith would die out. In the 1930’s the Nazi’s boldly stated they would outlast the followers of Jesus. In the 1960’s John Lennon said, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue with that; I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first – rock and roll or Christianity.” 

 Well, it is the twenty-first century. Lennon is entombed. The Third Reich is gone; the Beatles are defunct, but the work of Jesus Christ marches on.

 It was the same in the first century. The Roman historian Tacitus wrote about how Nero thought he would annihilate the Christians, “Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.” 

 In fact, if you would have asked almost anyone in the Roman Empire in the first century who are the greats living who will be remembered in history and through the centuries … they would have said, “Caesar and Nero.” If you asked them, “What about the followers of Jesus?” They would have vehemently declared, “They are nobodies. They will soon be dead and gone!” Well, 2,000 years have come and gone. We name our kids, Peter, James, John and Mary. We name our dogs Caesar and Nero. The Faith is indestructible and unstoppable.

 The Bible, likewise, is unique in its durability. It has survived burnings, bans, ridicule and criticism. Countless rulers and kings have attempted to eradicate it, yet it endures. Name another book that has been such a blockbuster and tops on the best seller list every year for 300 years!

 In the 1700’s, Voltaire, the noted French Philosopher, held a Bible up in the air and said that in 50 years there would not be a Bible on the face of the earth and Christianity would be swept from existence. Fifty years later, Voltaire was dead, and the Geneva Bible Society bought his house and began printing Bibles in it.

 The obituaries for Faith and the Bible will continue to be written. Sure, some man-made stuff will fall by the wayside. Stock Markets may get rocked, housing markets may crumble, banks may implode, but the Kingdom of God marches on. You can count on it. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:8